I'm exhausted from finishing my editing on Aberrant Magic #3. My puppy is hyper, my knee hurts from a fall, so I'm going to answer a few comments and go to bed instead of doing any writing tonight. Good night my lovelies.

This is an original I'm working on, although it does take big pieces from a fanfic of mine. This chapter should (hopefully) set up this world.

Tap Dancing the Minefields

George “Tank” Tanki started fighting when he was fourteen and his high school classmate had her estranged father show up and want to reclaim his daughter for her demonic heritage. Since that time, he helped fight the forces of darkness. They won that war, but Tank felt like he lost himself. Searching for meaning in life, he joined the Army. He hoped to find a normal war and a way to connect with normal people. Instead he found the government had a few secrets of their own.

Lev is an engineer, and a damn good one. He serves in a secret government agency dealing with aliens that have been exploring and exploiting earth for generations. He’s also a geek in a world of soldiers. He never expected that the addition of one more emotionally damaged man to his base would change everything. While Lev’s heart warns him to avoid getting involved with someone already so young and his common sense tells him that on-base romance is trouble, he finds himself falling for the young man with sad eyes. But in their line of business, love sometimes takes a backseat to saving the world.

Many of you will recognize big chunks of this, but I'm wondering how it works as an original.

Tap Dancing the Minefields

George “Tank” Tanki started fighting when he was fourteen and his high school classmate had her estranged father show up and want to reclaim his daughter for her demonic heritage. Since that time, he helped fight the forces of darkness. They won that war, but Tank felt like he lost himself. Searching for meaning in life, he joined the Army. He hoped to find a normal war and a way to connect with normal people. Instead he found the government had a few secrets of their own.

Lev is an engineer, and a damn good one. He serves in a secret government agency dealing with aliens that have been exploring and exploiting earth for generations. He’s also a geek in a world of soldiers. He never expected that the addition of one more emotionally damaged man to his base would change everything. While Lev’s heart warns him to avoid getting involved with someone already so young and his common sense tells him that on-base romance is trouble, he finds himself falling for the young man with sad eyes. But in their line of business, love sometimes takes a backseat to saving the world.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

In a world where magic has slowly returned following the great purges, magic and religion coexist uneasily. The Talent unit of the FBI investigates crime related to those who have Talent or magic, either shamans or adepts who manipulate living magic and have spirit guides or magic users who take the left over magic and weave it into spells and crystals.

Darren is the mundane of the team. He admires and maybe even lusts after his boss.

Kavon is a powerful shaman who has always avoided politics and intimacy. As far as he's concerned, politics is evil. Intimacy, on the other hand, is more complicated. As a shaman, he uses living magic, and every human has a small store of their own power. If he gets involved with anyone, particularly someone like Darren who he cares for, he could accidentally take his life.

So they live in denial.

Only this is me, so maybe not denial as much as finding a creative solution.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

This is the chapter I wrote first. This is the heart of the whole story.

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.

Illusions LostOur experience is composed rather of illusions lost than of wisdom acquired.Joseph Roux

NCIS/Criminal MindsGibbs has left for Mexico, and Tony’s gut is telling him he’s in trouble. Abby is too distracted by her grief for Gibbs to back Tony up, so he decides to go to the most Abbish person he knows for help: Penelope Garcia. Abby introduced them after the two women met at a forensics seminar for federal agents. So Tony asks Garcia if she will do a little digging, but bringing Garcia in means bringing in other members of the BAU. After all, if Garcia thinks a friend is in trouble, she’ll always turn to her Derek, trusting him to do the right thing. Tony just isn't sure that having Derek Morgan on his side is going to help when he has a director making unreasonable requests, a team doing the minimum required for their job and an overwrought Abby to deal with.